Cardinals on wrong end of solo home run derby, lose 6-3 to Drillers

Sosa powered a pair of solo homers on Monday in a 6-3 Cardinals loss to the Drillers in front of a crowd of 4,486 at Hammons Field.

Sosa’s two home runs give him four on Mondays this season and seven total, but weren’t enough to keep Springfield from dropping the first three games of a key eight-game homestand.

Springfield starter Connor Jones pitched into the seventh, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing five runs on seven hits a walk with three strikeouts. The five runs off Jones came off four Drillers home runs.

Tulsa added a sixth run off a Cardinals throwing error in the eighth.

The Drillers struck first in the first on Zach Reks first home run of the season.

That lead lasted just a few minutes. Sosa drew the Cardinals even with a solo shot of his own to right with an out in the bottom of the first. Next, Texas League Player of the Week Lane Thomas singled and stole second before Evan Mendoza drove him home with a single through the right side.

Thomas extended his hit streak to 10 games with his first-inning single.

Springfield led 2-1 until the fourth when Connor Joe’s 11th home run of the season for Tulsa tied the game 2-2.

Sosa did his thing again in the bottom of the fifth, this time skying the ball into the visitors bullpen in left and putting the Cardinals back on top with a 3-2 lead.

The game of dingers continued in the seventh. This time it was Tyler Goeddel’s turn. The former Rays 1st-round pick but the Drillers up 4-3 in the seventh. A batter later, Jacob Scavuzzo deposited a solo homer in the same spot for a 5-3 score.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals are approaching must-win territory with their division deficit now at 2.5 games behind Arkansas with seven games left in the 1st-Half. Springfield hosts the Drillers for a fourth straight day at 6:30 pm on Tuesday.

Tuesday is a Great Southern Bank $1 Dog Day, where fans can enjoy delicious Hammons Field hot dogs all night for just a buck.